Even though I've had lots of conversations with a friend who frequents these forums, I'm still trying to understand the main defining points of the Orthodox faith. I'll just sort of say my opinion on the beliefs as we go and we'll move on from there.

i used to think i was 'non denominational' until i realised i was protestant with charismatic and methodist influences.you may think you don't follow any particular tradition until you read about orthodoxy and realise that you are following traditions that date back at least 500 years!

welcome to the forum, and please read a lot about church history, focusing on AD 0 - 1500 (the bits that are missed out in most protestant churches).there's more to it than you might think!ask God to show you how to follow Him and serve Him and may God guide you.

We're on much the same path, it seems. I was Evangelical before, but my connection with any particular denomination was tenuous at best, so you could call me pretty "non-denominational" too.

As to "the main defining points" as distinct from non-denom Protestantism...wow. Big question. But we could start with:

1. Church Authority2. Church Hierarchy3. Tradition as the Rule of Faith4. Veneration of Saints and Icons5. Perpetual Virginity of the Theotokos6. The Word "Theotokos" (Mother of God) itself7. The Single Procession of the Holy Spirit8. Ritual9. Sacramentalism10. Apostolic Succession11. Funny Hats12. Non-Judicial View of Salvation13. Holistic View of Man (Body and soul, not a soul trapped in a body)

Welcome to the forum. As others have pointed out, it would really help if you read up a bit and then asked questions. I suggest you start with Timothy Ware's The Orthodox Church. Here is some info on the author:

"(Metropolitan) Kallistos Ware (born Timothy Ware on 11 September 1934) is an English bishop within the Greek Orthodox Church under the Patriarch of Constantinople and one of the best-known contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians. From 1982 he has held the Titular Bishopric of Diokleia. In 2007 the bishopric was made a titular metropolitan bishopric. From 1966 to 2001, Ware was Spalding Lecturer of Eastern Orthodox Studies at the University of Oxford. He has authored numerous books and articles pertaining to the Orthodox Christian faith."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallistos_Ware

If you are coming from an Evangelical background, you may want to read Father Peter Gillquist's Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 1989. Here is some information on Father Peter of blessed memory:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_E._Gillquist

"Hades is not a place, no, but a state of the soul. It begins here on earth. Just so, paradise begins in the soul of a man here in the earthly life. Here we already have contact with the divine..." -St. John, Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco, Homily On the Sunday of Orthodoxy

i used to think i was 'non denominational' until i realised i was protestant with charismatic and methodist influences.you may think you don't follow any particular tradition until you read about orthodoxy and realise that you are following traditions that date back at least 500 years!

welcome to the forum, and please read a lot about church history, focusing on AD 0 - 1500 (the bits that are missed out in most protestant churches).there's more to it than you might think!ask God to show you how to follow Him and serve Him and may God guide you.

Unless his church belongs to an organization of churches (such as the Southern Baptist Conference), then it is perfectly valid for him to refer to himself as non-denominational

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